A. College-owned (State) vehicles are to be used for official Fort Lewis College business only. Drivers of State vehicles are subject to all traffic laws and regulations established by the local jurisdictions through which they travel, and are accountable for any parking or moving violations received.

B. Only College employees or Authorized State Volunteers may drive State vehicles. This includes faculty, staff, and students, provided they are acting within the scope of their duties. All drivers are required to possess a current driver's license.

C. Vehicles are not be used for personal business or pleasure under any circumstances.

D. Friends and/or family members (e.g. spouse, children) may not ride in State vehicles unless they are College employees acting within the scope of their duties which must be official Fort Lewis College business.

E. All occupants, including the driver, are required to wear seat belts.

F. Persons driving State vehicles shall not consume alcoholic beverages or other illegal substances before or while driving.

G. Pets and smoking are not allowed in any State vehicle at any time.

H. No Fort Lewis College vehicle shall be taken out of the Continental United States without prior approval from Transportation Services.

II. TRANSPORTATION SERVICES - LOCATION AND HOURS OF OPERATION

A. Transportation Services manages the Fort Lewis College rental vehicles. This department is funded as a Revolving Fund and managed by personnel from the Physical Plant Services (PPS) Service Center and PPS Equipment Shop.

B. The PPS Service Center (247-7000) and the PPS Equipment Shop (247-7560), are located in the Physical Plant Services Building at the north end of campus across from Hillcrest Golf Course. The main entrance is located on the east side of the building.

D. Vehicle maintenance (e.g. car wash, oil changes, etc.) and rental services are available only during normal business hours.

III. DEPARTMENTAL VEHICLES

A. Departments may have possession of vehicles on a long-term basis if such a need exists. All financial obligations are the responsibility of the department that "owns" the vehicle, including disposal and procurement of replacement vehicles.

B. In order to insure that all State rules and College policies are adhered to, all vehicle procurements must be approved by PPS Service Center prior to acquisition.

C. Departmental vehicles must be titled and registered through the PPS Service Center to “Fort Lewis College, State of Colorado”.

D. Fort Lewis College policy requires that all vehicles are detailed with the College logo. Detailing is provided at the expense of the department. It is the department's responsibility to have the detailing removed prior to sale or disposal of the vehicle.

F. Each vehicle is issued a notebook, which contains vehicle registration, proof of insurance, GasBoy key for on campus fueling, maintenance procedures, an accident report form, and information on policies and procedures. The notebook should remain inside the vehicle at all times.

G. Transportation Services is not responsible for lost keys. Departments must pay for expenses incurred to open a locked vehicle.

H. When not in service, vehicles are to be parked in an assigned location approved by the PPS Service Center.

I. In order to assure safe operation of the vehicle, drivers must perform day-to-day care, including checking proper fluid levels, tire pressure and other daily maintenance.

J. Scheduled Preventative Maintenance will be tracked by the PPS Service Center for all College owned vehicles. It is the individual department’s responsibility to have all maintenance work performed.

K. Maintenance work must be performed by the PPS Equipment Shop or an authorized vendor. All expenses for labor and materials will be charged to the department’s budget. The following procedure must be followed for repair or maintenance work performed on departmental vehicles:

1. If the department decides to have the work performed by an authorized vendor, they must submit a work request indicating the vehicle license number, mileage, nature of work required and the name of the vendor who will be performing the work.

a. Ask the vendor to contact the PPS Service Center to provide an estimate of the cost.

b. Upon approval of the estimate, the PPS Service Center will provide the vendor an authorization number which is the corresponding work order number. After receiving this number, the vendor may proceed with the repairs or maintenance.

c. When the work has been completed, the vendor is required to provide the PPS Service Center (by fax or other means) an invoice in order to receive payment. This invoice MUST include the work order number as proof of authorization. The fax number at the PPS Service Center is 247-7555.

d. The PPS Service Center will verify that the work has been completed. After verification, they will submit a Request For Payment (RFP) from the requesting department’s budget for the invoiced amount.

2. If the department decides to have the work performed by the PPS Equipment Shop, they must submit a work request indicating the license number, mileage, and nature of the requested services. After submitting the work request, deliver the vehicle to the PPS Equipment Shop located at the PPS building. Once the requested repairs/maintenance have been completed, the department requestor will be notified.

L. Fuel expenses are the responsibility of the individual department. Charges for fuel dispensed on campus at the GasBoy pump will be assessed at wholesale rates and charged directly to the department budget.

M. Contact PPS Service Center at 247-7000 for more information.

IV. UTILITY CARTS

Campus departments may, at their own expense, procure golf carts, Gators, ATV's, and other small-sized electric or gasoline powered service/utility carts for travel on campus. For the purposes of this section, these types of vehicles will be referred to as "utility carts." These types of vehicles are slow-moving vehicles, do not require license plates, and are not "road-worthy" meaning that they are not to be driven off campus. It is the responsibility of the department to locate and procure storage for utility carts. The PPS Service Center must approve all storage locations.

Employees operating utility carts are expected to understand and comply with the following:

A. All employees operating utility carts must possess a current, valid driver’s license which must be in his/her possession at all times during the operation of a utility cart. As this is a College policy, and not a State statute or regulation, exceptions to this will be made on a case-by-case basis, and will require the approval of the appropriate Vice-President.

C. Any instance of careless, negligent or impaired operation of a campus utility cart will be reviewed/investigated by the Campus Police Department. Employees determined to have been careless, negligent or impaired while operating a campus cart shall be subject to corrective and/or disciplinary action, as well as civil traffic or criminal citation as appropriate.

D. Accidents involving any campus vehicles must be reported immediately to the College Police Department (247-7123) and to the PPS Service Center (247-7000).

V. COLLEGE RENTAL VEHICLES

A. Transportation Services (operated out of PPS Service Center) maintains a rental fleet of 6 full-size 10-passenger vans, one 29-passenger travel bus, one 24-passenger travel bus, one 22-passenger travel bus, and one 30 passenger field bus. Transportation Services does not provide bus drivers.

B. To determine the availability of a vehicle, contact the PPS Service Center at 247-7000 as far in advance as possible. While an advance reservation may not guarantee availability of a vehicle, it may be helpful in determining whether or not Transportation Services will be able to accommodate departmental needs.

C. College vehicle reservations are accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis. No priority is given to any individual or group.

D. To officially reserve a State vehicle, submit a Vehicle Request Form (VRF) as far in advance as possible with the following information:

1. Type (or types) of vehicle(s) needed
2. Driver name(s)
3. Destination
4. Travel Authorization Number (Reservations will not be made without this number)
5. Budget account number (Reservations will not be made without an account number)
6. Departure and return date/time
7. Special instructions (e.g. remove back seat from a full-size van)

E. A properly authorized VRF is required to be completed and received by PPS Service Center before the vehicle will be scheduled and/or released to the driver.

F. In accordance with State regulations and Fort Lewis College policy, and to ensure appropriate use of State vehicles, all rental charges are required to be billed to an existing FLC account. Credit card, cash, and check payments are not accepted.

G. All vehicle use will be charged to the account designated on the VRF.

H. In the event the requestor is not able to arrive at the scheduled time, or if there is a need to cancel the reservation, please contact the PPS Service Center (247-7000) as soon as possible in order to avoid a "no show" charge.

I. Inside each vehicle, is a notebook which contains the vehicle registration, proof of insurance, an accident report form, information on policies and procedures and a blank Vehicle Condition Report. Please note any concerns or problems with the vehicle on the Vehicle Condition Report. Transportation Services personnel will address anything noted on this report.

J. Users are expected to be familiar with and comply with all rules, regulations, and information contained in the notebook. Copies of information contained within the notebook are available upon request.

K. Transportation Services is not responsible for lost keys. The Department renting the vehicle is responsible for expenses incurred to open a locked vehicle.

L. When returning vehicles, park them in Parking Lot J which is the parking lot located on the east side of the Physical Plant Services Building. During normal operating hours, check in at the PPS Service Center. If the vehicle is returned after hours, park the vehicle in Parking Lot J, lock the vehicle, and place the keys in the drop box located next to the entry door on the east side of the PPS building.

M. It is required that all vehicles be returned in the condition in which they were released. Remove any spills and all garbage (e.g. spilled beverages, sunflower seed shells, gum wrappers, etc.). PPS Service Center reserves the right to assess a cleaning fee for vehicles returned in an unacceptable condition.

O. Vehicle fuel tanks are full at time of check out. Upon return, Transportation Services personnel will fill the fuel tank and charge the budget code on the VRF for the amount of fuel required to fill the tank.

P. Advanced pick up of vans after 4:00 PM will not be charged for that day.

Q. There is a one-day minimum rental and charges shall be assessed accordingly.

R. No-show's and late returns are charged at the minimum daily rental rate for that vehicle.

A. For safety reasons, full-size passenger vans will be limited to ten (10) or less occupants.

B. Roof racks are not allowed on full-size vans.

C. Trailers are allowed only when there are no passengers aboard.

D. Drivers are encouraged to be aware of the National Highway Transportation Services Administration’s notification of possible safety hazards associated with 15-passenger van use (full-size vans). The notification can be found at this link: NHTSA 15-passenger Van Safety

VIII. VEHICLE MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR PROCEDURES

A. All College vehicles are serviced at the PPS Equipment Shop or at local service facilities. Every effort is made to keep vehicles clean and in good operating condition.

B. Notebooks in the vehicles provide protocol to be followed in the event of the breakdown of a Transportation Services rental vehicle.

C. In the event of a departmental vehicle breakdown and the vehicle deemed inoperable, call the PPS Equipment Shop (970) 247-7560 or PPS Service Center at (970) 247-7000, during normal business hours Monday through Friday. If problems are experienced after normal business hours, please call the Campus Police Department at 970-749-6581 for assistance.

D. All repairs of departmental vehicle must be tracked following the guidelines printed in Section III - J of this policy.

IX. ACCIDENTS AND INSURANCE INFORMATION

1. In case of an accident, it is the driver's responsibility to notify the proper authorities (local police, state patrol, or county sheriff) and the PPS Service Center immediately.

2. Accident reports and insurance forms, including instructions to drivers, are provided in the notebook kept in the vehicle.

3. In the event of an accident, the accident report form found in the back of the notebook must be filled out and returned to Transportation Services within 5 business days. Be aware that renters may be asked to obtain a copy of a police report as well, so be sure to obtain the name and telephone number of the reporting officer, the case report number, and the name of the police agency for which the officer works.

4. All College vehicles are liability-insured through the Colorado Division of Risk Management. Costs for damages caused through the fault of the driver may be chargeable to the department who rented the vehicle as comprehensive losses, and under some circumstances, may be chargeable to the driver, especially in cases of negligence, or if the driver was engaged in unlawful behavior at the time of the accident (e.g. driving under the influence of alcohol).

5. Liability insurance covers College vehicles only when they are being used for official College business. Misuse of College vehicles may result in the driver being personally liable for any and all damages and/or injuries.

6. Insurance coverage does not include personal injury protection (PIP) or medical coverage. State employees on official College business may submit a worker's compensation claim for bodily injury sustained while traveling in a College vehicle on official College business. A properly authorized leave request form must be submitted according to the policies and procedures established by Human Resources prior to travel or Worker's compensation processing may be delayed. Contact the Office of Human Resources (247-7428) for more information. Bodily injury claims for any other driver or passenger (students, College visitors, etc.) in a College vehicle are subject to personal insurance coverage.

7. If a vehicle is damaged in a manner beyond normal wear and tear, due to negligence or carelessness, or if damage is not reported to Transportation Services upon return, any and all repair costs may be charged to the renting department.